Tag Archives: black box

Functions: Variant Notations In this series, we’ve done a review of mathematical notation, with an eye on how each notation helps or hinders student learning. In the prior posts, we started to explore function notation, which in middle school and … Continue reading →

Functions: Standard Notation and Schools, Continued In this series, we’ve done a review of mathematical notation, with an eye on how each notation helps or hinders student learning. In the previous post, we started to explore function notation, which in … Continue reading →

In the last several posts in this series, we’ve looked at cyclical patterns of behavior of numbers and operators. For example, in the previous post we saw that when counting up, the last digit of a number consistently repeats after … Continue reading →

In this series, we’ve been looking at black boxes, where you put something in and something comes out. From looking at its behavior, you can often propose a model for what is happening inside. If you build the model, and … Continue reading →

In this series, we’ve pictured operators as black boxes with inputs and outputs. In the previous post we looked at rather ordinary addition from a less ordinary perspective: we imagined the number line arranged as a cylindrical spiral, like a … Continue reading →

In this series, we’ve spent considerable space playing with operators, which we’ve pictured as black boxes with inputs and outputs, often as part of a machine with state. In more recent posts, e.g. this one , we’ve looked at operators … Continue reading →

In this series, we’ve been looking at operators in various settings, and looked for ways to use them to shine a different colored light on some aspects school math. In the last four posts, we’ve explored the notions of equivalence … Continue reading →